Hi, I’m Jaye and I’m here to talk a little bit about my books, specifically about my upcoming release, Hunter. Hunter is a paranormal suspense novel about an FBI profiler on thin ice, a detective with the Mass. State Police hiding a secret, and a mystery stretching back across centuries.

I’ll write in just about any sub-genre of romance, but my favorite playground is the speculative fiction sandbox. I grew up on a steady diet of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, so it seems natural to me to look at these stories and say, “Okay, but what’s happening with these characters?” I’ve written science fiction romance (Starlit), fantasy romance (The Dented Crown), and other paranormal romance (Rites of Spring.) What makes Hunter different is the location. (Okay, and the serial killer.)

All of the major locations in Hunter, and in the subsequent books in the series, are places I’ve visited. I’ve usually been there with my dog, often lost. The stories about these places are real. You can decide if you believe they’re haunted or not, but Captain Lightfoot’s Inn is a real place. My dog and I found it in the very conservation land I mentioned in the book. So is the rock, with the memorial I discussed.

The great thing about living in New England is the way we love our creepy history around here. This is the same place that gave H. P. Lovecraft to the world, with all the complicated parts of his legacy. We pay attention to the creepier stories, too. I don’t know if people necessarily give credence to ghost stories and make decisions around them, but we pay attention to what’s behind them.

For example, there’s a geographic feature near my home whose name translates as “The Devil’s Swamp.” In other parts of the country, people would drain that swamp and build subdivisions in it. Here, we leave it be. Colonists figured they were calling it The Devil’s Swamp for a reason, after all. It might be the actual devil, and it might be bad water and disease-carrying mosquitoes, but either way putting a house in it would be a Very Bad Idea.

When I sat down to write Hunter, I wanted to celebrate not just the creepy side of New England, but the pride New England takes in its darker history. History is so much more than just names and dates, battles and crusty old men making speeches. History is blood and pain, fear and sacrifice, love and faith that echo across generations to influence the future.

Isn’t that what romance is, too?

Luis has spent his career chasing the darker side of life. First a vice cop, then an FBI profiler, now he lands in the Boston field office, and not by choice. He expects his caseload to have a much lighter tone than he’s used to.

He wasn’t counting on New England’s dark history, or their pride in it. He didn’t understand how close-knit the old towns could be, or how protective they were of their own. He soon finds he’s going to have to count on every skill he ever used in his time at headquarters, and a few skills he didn’t know he had, if he wants to keep body and soul together.

Complicating matters is a new case Luis has just been handed, working with the Mass. State Police. Luis has history there, and ugly history too. Detective Donovan Carey is the guy who broke Luis’ heart over a decade ago. He wasn’t willing to even peek his head outside the closet, certainly not for someone like Luis. Can they put their history aside to deal with a mystery centuries in the making?